Chapter 468: The Fall of Master Tushan Xiancheng

In a teleportation array,

Jiang Ding's figure materialized, silently gazing into the distance.

After advancing to Jin Dan, Jia-25 was already able to maintain contact with him within a range of thirty thousand kilometers, like a clone.

Master Tushan Xiancheng, Demon Palace.

A youth in blue robes was cultivating; at this moment he also opened his eyes and looked in the same direction.

……

On a street in Master Tushan Xiancheng.

The surrounding shops were dazzling to the eye—magic artifacts, talismans, pills, cosmetics, spirit beasts… nearly every trade a cultivator could want was present, business flourishing.

Cultivators came and went all around; Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators were commonplace, and if one waited for several days, Jin Dan cultivators could also be spotted.

Order was neat and orderly, everyone relaxed, without the usual chaos and wariness commonly seen in ordinary immortal cities.

"This place is not bad, far surpassing an ordinary Northern Plains Jin Dan immortal city."

A hawk-nosed middle-aged man wearing a golden crow-feather crown walked quietly along the street, casually offering a word of praise.

Behind him, an old man and a beautiful woman followed respectfully, both at the peak of Jin Dan cultivation but displaying the aura of Foundation Establishment.

They flanked him on the left and right, every movement following a certain inherited etiquette, not daring to speak casually, looking exceedingly deferential.

"This Master Tushan Xiancheng, according to the intelligence you submitted, seems to be only a little over a hundred years old, yes?"

The crow-crowned middle-aged man merely glanced a few times, then lost interest in the surrounding prosperous scene, and tested: "Why has it developed into what it is today?"

"This…"

The old man and the beautiful woman exchanged a glance, somewhat hesitant to speak.

"Hei Chengwu, you speak."

The crow-crowned middle-aged man casually pointed at one person.

"Father, it is nothing more than the fact that the City Lord of Master Tushan Xiancheng, the Master Tushan Sword Cultivator, has strength that surpasses the surrounding several nations."

The old man named Hei Hei Chengwu said respectfully: "With strength, then encourage commerce, establish order, abide by order, and an immortal city will develop—there is nothing mysterious about it."

"Is that so?"

The crow-crowned middle-aged man was somewhat disappointed.

This did not seem to be the answer he wanted.

"Hei Chengxiu."

He pointed at the beautiful woman again.

"Father, the City Lord of Master Tushan Xiancheng's strength is one factor, but even with strength, an immortal city does not necessarily develop well."

The beautiful woman Hei Hei Chengxiu said without hesitation: "The most important thing is that Master Tushan Xiancheng embraces all rivers, absorbing outstanding disciples from all over the Tu Kingdom, absorbing outstanding disciples from among loose cultivators.

He does not stick to one pattern when recruiting talent, selecting all kinds of capable people to incorporate into the rule of Master Tushan Xiancheng—only in this way can this foundation be stabilized, producing a steady stream of spirit stones every year."

"If the Master Tushan City Lord only allowed his own direct bloodline to rule, occupying all the key positions in Master Tushan Xiancheng, there would absolutely not be the Master Tushan Xiancheng of today."

She was somewhat pointedly confrontational, not hiding anything.

"This is the foolishness of seeking quick success!"

At these words, the old man snorted coldly: "I dare to assert that even without outside forces, if the Master Tushan City Lord has no heirs, within at most two generations, Master Tushan Xiancheng will decline and vanish without a trace, while the many families will still exist in the world, eternal and unchanging."

"Eternal and unchanging?"

Hei Hei Chengxiu laughed coldly.

"Of the twenty-eight sects of the Zhengmo Alliance—the Nangong family, the Beifu family, the Qiantou family, and others, the Qi Sect's twenty-one families—where are they now?"

"I say, in a few hundred years, when someone like me today asks, 'Where is the Hei family of the Beast Path?'"

"Nonsense!"

The old man flew into a rage: "I knew it—you branch-family people are a calamity, always hoping for my General General Heishi's destruction, your treacherous hearts never die. You lot don't know your ancestors, don't know the order of superior and inferior. Overthrowing the Qi Sect's twenty-one families is not enough—now you want to come plague Shidezu Sect's ancestral foundation!"

In Northern Plains families, for unknown reasons, the distinction between branch and direct lineage was extremely strict—only when both parents were direct lineage members of the twenty-eight family-sects of the Zhengmo Alliance would direct-lineage children be born.

If one side was not, the children were branch lineage.

"You lot are the calamity. The ancestral foundation has fallen to this state, declined to this state—all of it is your fault."

Hei Hei Chengxiu said calmly.

"Using branch to offend direct lineage—the Guishan Tie family would absolutely not permit such a thing…"

The old man smiled coldly.

"We've arrived."

The crow-crowned middle-aged man waved his hand.

The two immediately fell silent.

Before them, the palace city stood tall and continuous, formations concealing it, groups of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall standing guard.

A terrifying pressure slowly revealed itself, enveloping the entire Master Tushan Xiancheng.

In an instant, the entire city fell silent—you could hear a pin drop.

"This is…"

Hundreds of thousands of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators only felt their bodies go cold, breathing extremely difficult, boundless fear welling up in their hearts, hands and feet not obeying them, yet not knowing why.

"Nascent Soul! This is a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun!"

"How could it be, in this small place?"

Like them, the more than forty Jin Dan cultivators in the city—whether in seclusion, cultivating, or walking—all woke in alarm, terrified beyond measure, looking in this direction.

"Greetings, Old Ancestor…"

"This junior Liu Jin Shi, greets the Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun!"

Some Jin Dan cultivators recognized the arrivals, greatly terrified, and hurriedly flew over to pay respects.

"Pay respects to Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai!"

Among the forty-plus Jin Dan cultivators temporarily residing in Master Tushan Xiancheng, thirty-two made the same choice, daring not to harbor any thought of fleeing, clearly aware of the gap between Jin Dan and Nascent Soul.

"Impossible."

More than ten Jin Dan cultivators, their eyes filled with despair, burned their vital blood and fled madly toward the distance.

These were cultivators famous on the Liu Dao Sect's wanted list, who had fished in troubled waters during the chaotic war between the Zhengmo Alliance and the Dari Sect, gaining much, and did not believe the other party would let them go.

"Insects who know not death."

Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai shook his head.

In the snap of a finger, flames bloomed.

More than ten golden-crowned black crows shrieked and flew out, their speed unparalleled; in the blink of an eye, they caught up with the more than ten Jin Dan cultivators, spitting crimson-gold flames that melted gold and iron, piercing a hole through any magical treasure, burning them into a lump of charcoal.

"Those who offend the Liu Dao Sect,"

"Die!"

Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai paid no heed to the circle of prostrate Jin Dan cultivators around him; with another snap of his finger, more than ten golden-crowned black crows flew out, surrounding the Tushan Demon Palace completely, spitting Xiong Xiong crimson-gold flames, turning it into a sea of fire in an instant.

Instantly, the towering walls of the Tushan Demon Palace melted and collapsed; the many Foundation Establishment cultivators within screamed as they turned to ash, and the golden vines covering the mountain turned to gray dust.

"Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai..."

The youth in green robes within the flames did not choose to leave; after casting one last glance at Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai, his body collapsed into a sky-full of spiritual light, voluntarily extinguishing himself.

"You young one are indeed clever, leaving a puppet here."

"Pity, but how could one possibly escape from the Old Ancestor?"

Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai smiled faintly.

He flicked his sleeve, sending out a ring of black light; where the spiritual light of the youth in green robes had dispersed, and the lingering traces of aura throughout the Demon Palace, were all gathered into his sleeve for careful analysis.

The Liu Dao Sect possesses a technique named the Blood Soul Tracing Curse!

Their Tracking Treasure, the famous Blood Soul Tracing Arrow of the Punishment Hall, was derived from this technique, boasting the ability to curse and kill an enemy from ten thousand li away, causing their flesh and soul to rot and die.

When a Nascent Soul cultivator casts it upon lower-rank cultivators, it is unstoppable.

"Hmm?"

Moments later, Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai froze.

"Nothing?"

"This young one has been in Master Tushan Xiancheng for at least a century; how could there not be a single trace of aura?"

He could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

"Could he have cultivated some powerful concealment technique?"

Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai refused to believe it, searching several more times in succession, yet still finding not a shred of aura; he could only frown and say,

"Enough."

"This young one has fortune; he was meant to escape this calamity."

Master Dinghai Zhenjun Master Dinghai shook his head, not taking it to heart, and sighed: "Little Twenty-Nine's Shen Hun Yin has vanished. I thought it was that beast Liu Xueyun who had fled here, adopting the name City Lord of Master Tushan. Now that I think on it, this Master Tushan sword cultivator has some merits among Jin Dan young ones; it is not him."

"The arrival of the Dari Sect has caused great chaos in this Northern Plain."

He shook his head.

"The Old Ancestor is weary and will return first. Summon the Chu State and the Yue State to surrender."

He clearly had little interest in attacking some Jin Dan cultivators; since he could not find the main target, he ceased to pay attention, flashed his figure, and vanished via spatial technique.

"Respectfully see off the Old Ancestor!"

The old man and the beautiful woman bowed deeply.

Two

(End of this chapter)